Mechanism for feeding envelopes, cards or other sheets from under a pile into a machine for their processing



K. STEMMLER Dec. 13, 1966 MECHANISM FOR FEEDING ENVELOPES, CARDS OR OTHER SHEETS FROM UNDER A FILE INTO A MACHINE FOR THEIR PROCESSING Filed July 2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 WW 0 R 8 We Wm w r m M RHm m r Dec. 13, 1966 K. STEMMLER 3,291,482

MECHANISM FOR FEEDING ENVELOPES, CARDS OR OTHER SHEETS FROM UNDER A FILE INTO A MACHINE FOR THEIR PROCESSING Filed July 2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet F ig. 3 Juven/arf KURT TE/VNLfR Arron/v.5 Y5

United States Patent Ofiice 3,291,432 Fatented Dec. 13, 1966 3 291,482 MECHANISM FGR FEEDING ENVELOPES, CARDS OR OTHER SHEETS FROM UNDER A FILE INTO A MACHINE FQR THEIR PRGCESSING Kurt Stemmler, Irlicii, near Neuwied, Germany, asslguor to Richard Winirler, Rengsdorf uber Neuwied, Germany and Kurt Dunnebier, Gladbach, Germany Filed July 2, 1964, Ser. No. 379,807 Claims priority, application Germany, July 19, 1953, W 34,916 6 Claims. (Cl. 271-11) This invention relates to a mechanism which pulls the bottom item in a pile of finished envelopes, cards or sheets of stiff paper or the like (hereinafter briefly termed sheets) right away from under the pile and supplies the successive sheets, adjusted for equal spacing and an accurate position, to a machine for the printing, gumming, banding in packets, or other processing.

Feed mechanisms of this type are known. They generally work with a suction roll which acts below the part of the pile situated in front in the direction of feed and which grips the bottom sheet adjacent to its front edge and pulls it away from under the pile. These feed mechanisms working exclusively with rotating members are reliable up to a certain number of items per minute. Limits are imposed on a further increase in capacity by the high acceleration of the sheets to be fed in from their state of rest under the weight of the superimposed pile.

The object of the invention is to increase the capacity of the feed to working speeds such as are usual in modern machines without giving up its simple construction. The problem is solved by the provision in a mechanism of the said type, two or more relatively thin suction rolls, situated one behind another in the conveying direction, are arranged below the pile and pull the bottom sheet in the pile partially forwards below the pile at a low speed, after which a withdrawal roll, which rotates at a considerably higher speed than the suction rolls and which follows the suction rolls, in cooperation with pressure rollers or the like, takes over the sheet from the suction rolls, accelcrates it, pulls it right out from under the pile and transfers it to a following mechanism for adjusting the individual sheets to accurate mutual spacing and an accurate position.

The withdrawal roll runs at a peripheral speed which can be selected according to the length of the format to be fed in and which may, to advantage, be about three to six times as high as that of the suction rolls. The rear suction roll in the withdrawal direction may be associated with spring-loaded pressure rollers on pivotable holders, the movement of which is limited in the direction of the said suction roll.

The circumference of the suction roll may appropriately be partially recessed somewhat, at the points at which the pressure rollers press against the sheet, so as not to offer any resistance to acceleration of the sheet by the higher speed extraction roll, which might lead to tearing of the sheet. If the speed of rotation of the suction rolls is not very high, the same purpose can also be achieved by a controlled lifting of the pressure rollers from the suction roll.

One example of an embodiment of the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross section through the mechanism on the line 1-1 in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 2 is a partial plan view in the direction of the arrow A in FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 3 is a partial plan view in the direction of the arrow B in FIGURE 1.

A pile plate 3 is secured between side walls 1 and 2 of the mechanism. Suction rolls 4 and 5 are mounted for rotation in the side walls 1, 2. The gap between the two suction rolls is filled by a metal guide 6 which engages with tongues 6 at its side adjacent to the suction roll 5 in circumferential grooves 5' in the suction roll 5. Both suction rolls 4 and 5 project with their cylindrical surface somewhat above the plane formed by the pile plate 3 and the metal guide 6. Each suction roll is provided with a plurality of suction holes 7 which are arranged in a row and which are provided, in the central region of the suction roll, with lips 8 of rubber or the like which increase the friction. The suction holes at the ends of the rolls, which are only used during the process ing of wide formats, can be closed by screws 9. The suction holes in each suction roll are in communication, through a longitudinal bore 10 and a flange 11 secured to the side wall 2, with a vacuum pump.

Secured to the other journal of each suction roll is a toothed drive wheel 12. A cover 13, which engages with slight clearance round the under side of each suction roll, closes the suction holes 7 while they are not in operation upon sheets to be fed.

Pile stops 14 with feet 14' are secured to the pile plate 3, and are adjustable according to the format to be processed, by means of screws 15. Flat front pile stops 17 are bolted to a support 16 secured to the side walls so as to be adjustable in their spacing from the suction roll 4- by means of bolts 18.

A withdrawal roll 19 is mounted for rotation in the side walls below the suction roll 4 (FIGURE 3). Adjusting discs 22, which are secured by their hubs 20 t0 the shaft 21, are mounted for rotation in the side walls below the withdrawal roll 19. The withdrawal roll 19 carries on one of its journals the drive wheel 23, and the shaft 21 of the adjusting discs 22 similarly carries a drive wheel 24. A chain wheel 25 is fixed to the other journal of the shaft 21. The drive of the rolls 4, 5, 19 and of the adjusting discs 22 is effected by the chain wheel 25 by means of a toothed belt 26 which runs over the toothed drive wheels 12, 23, 24 and is held taut by a tension roller 27 which is only indicated in FIGURE 1. The peripheral speed of the withdrawal roll 19 is about three to six times the peripheral speed of the suction rolls 4 and 5 according to the length of format.

Mounted between the suction roll 4 and the withdrawal roll 19 is a metal guide 28 which engages with tongue-like projections 28' in the grooves 4' in the suction roll 4 and the grooves 19' in the roll 19. There is a similar metal guide 29 between this and the adjusting discs 22. Mounted for pivoting on a bar 30 secured in the side walls are holders 31 for double rollers $2 cooperating with the suction roll i and holders 33 for rollers 34 cooperating with the roll 19, which holders are urged towards said rolls by springs 35 from a support 36 (holders, springs and support are omitted on the right-hand side of FIGURE 3 for the sake of clarity). Pivotally mounted on a bar 37, which is likewise fixed to the side walls, are holders 38, in such a manner that rollers 40 mounted for rotation on the holders are urged against the extraction roll 19 by ghe springs 39 and rollers 41 against the adjusting discs ference of each adjusting disc and so forms a slit 4 Lf0rthe passage of the sheets or envelopes to be adjusted.

The mechanism works as follows: The suction rolls and 5, the withdrawal roll 19 and theadjiist'ing discs 22 rotate 1n the direction of the arrows shown in FIGURE 1 in the aforesaid ratio of their peripheral speeds. As soon as the suction holes 7 in the two suction rolls 4 and 5 are positioned above the surface of the pile plate 3 or of the metal guide 6, they draw the bottom sheet of a pile 45 by suction and entrain it. Since the two suction rolls project to a certain extent above the surface of the pile plate and of the metal guide, the bottom sheet is also pulled downwards by the suction rolls and reliably separated from those above. The bottom sheet, which has started in motion, is peeled off the suction roll 5 by the tongues 6 of the metal guide 6 while its leading edge is pulled downwards round the suction roll 4 under the rollers 32 and between these and the suction roll 4 it is conveyed away between the withdrawal roll 19 and the rollers 34. In the course of this, the sheet is peeled off the suction roll 4 by the tongues 28' of the metal guide 28 engaging in the grooves 4 in the suction roll.

The circumference of the suction roll 4 is partially recessed (not shown) at the points at which the rollers 32 press against the sheet, so that from the moment when the sheet arrives between the extraction roll 19 and the rollers 34, it is accelerated away between the rollers 32, which are limited in their movement towards the suction roll 4, pulled right out from under the pile and is conveyed over the metal guide 29 between the adjusting discs 22 and the rollers 41 co-rotating at the circumference thereof.

When the withdrawn sheet is substantially in the position designated by 45, and its trailing edge has passed under the rollers 41, its speed is slowed down in the slit 44 (if necessary by the action of braking brushes or the like, not illustrated), until it is overtaken by the entrainment means 42 travelling behind it and is thereby adjusted so that all the sheets leave the end of the slit 44 in alignment and with the same mutual spacing.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for feeding envelopes, cards or other sheets from under a pile into a machine for their processing, wherein the bottom sheet in each case is pulled individually right out from under the pile and is supplied to means for adjusting the successive sheets to the same mutual spacing and same position, comprising several suction rolls mounted below the pile and situated one behind the other in the conveying direction and which rotate at the same peripheral speed.

2. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a withdrawal roll which rotates at a higher peripheral speed than the suction rolls and is mounted below the pile in the rear of the suction rolls.

3. A mechanism as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the withdrawal roll rotates at a peripheral speed which is approximately between three and six times as high as that of the suction rolls.

4. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a posterior one of the suction rolls is associated with spring-loaded pressure rollers supported on pivotable holders, the movement of said pressure rollers being limited in the direction of the respective suction roll.

5. A mechanism as claimed in claim 4, characterised in that a withdrawal roll rotating at a higher peripheral speed than the suction rolls is mounted below the pile in the rear of the suction rolls, and that the circumference of said posterior suction roll is partially recessed at the points at which the pressure rollers press against the sheet, in order that the sheet may run freely between said suction roll and the pressure rollers during its acceleration by the withdrawal roll.

6. A mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sheet adjusting means including a pair of axially spacedapart rotatable discs each carrying sheet entrainment means equally spaced apart about their peripheries, and guide means spaced apart from and surrounding part of the disc peripheries.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,085,144 6/1937 Bushnell 271-29 2,770,458 11/1956 Halahan et al. 27l-29 3,185,472 5/1965 Rubow 271ll 3,219,339 11/1965 Gutierrez 27l-ll FOREIGN PATENTS 1,139,851 11/1962 Germany.

M. HENSON WOOD, IR., Primary Examiner.

ALLEN N. KNOWLES, Examiner. 

1. A MECHANISM FOR FEEDING ENVELOPES, CARDS OR OTHER SHEETS FROM UNDER A PILE INTO A MACHINE FOR THEIR PROCESSING, WHEREIN THE BOTTOM SHEET IN EACH CASE IS PULLED INDIVIDUALLY RIGHT OUT FROM UNDER THE PILE AND IS SUPPLIED TO MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE SUCCESSIVE SHEETS TO THE SAME MUTUAL SPACING AND SAME POSITION, COMPRISING SEVERAL SUCTION ROLLS MOUNTED BELOW THE PILE AND SITUATED ONE BEHIND 